Providing Pathways into Rugby
Linlithgow Rugby Club aims to provide access into rugby at all ages for males and females of all abilities. Our membership is open to all and we run rugby from pre-school (age 2) to senior rugby.
The earliest experience offered is at Age 2, with the Wee Reds Tiny and Teenie Reds offering exercise and fun for youngsters, male and female, aged from 2 to 5 years. Small soft pink rugby balls are used and the aim is to have fun and to encourage youngsters to play and exercise under the guidance of a qualified coach. There is a lot of interest from parents and we plan to run a series of 5 / 6 week blocks during
the year on the 3G surface in the Indoor Training Centre.
For males and females of primary school age, the Club runs a Wee Reds Micros section (Primary 1 to Primary 3) with a non-contact introduction to rugby focusing on fun and simple handling skills. The group occasionally takes part in fun games with other clubs, but the main focus for the Wee Reds Micros is home-based sessions each Sunday morning at 11am from September through till end May. Over
the winter months, all sessions are indoors on the 3G pitch.
The next progression is to Mini Rugby and the Wee Reds Minis operate four squads, one for each of the primary age groups from Primary 4 to Primary 7. The Wee Reds Minis hold training sessions or play matches against other clubs, home and away, on Sundays from September through to the end of May. Training sessions also take place on Wednesday early evenings. Training is indoor during winter months
(November through February).
All age groups at Mini Rugby level are open to males and females, however from S1 level, the girls and boys play separately. We have a full set of male youth teams from S1 to Under 18 and, although we don’t currently have female youth teams at these age levels, we are working to develop female youth rugby squads through the School of Rugby.
The Club runs a School of Rugby is conjunction with partners Linlithgow Academy, West Lothian Council and Scottish Rugby. This involves specific curricular and extra-curricular rugby activities in Linlithgow Academy and the cluster primary schools, in addition to outreach activities to other secondary schools in the north of West Lothian. The curricular activities are integral to the wider Health and Wellbeing agenda within schools. It is through the School of Rugby that we have started a Girls’ Development Squad and hope to grow this further over the next few years.
The Club operates the Young Reds with male teams at five age groups – S1, S2, S3/U15, U16 and U18. The U18 squad is open to male youngsters who have left school but are still under the age of 18.
Beyond the age of 18 years, the Club runs adult male rugby known as The Reds. At present, the Club has two regular teams playing league rugby (Reds 1st XV and Reds 2nd XV) with a third occasional team playing one-off social matches (the Red Kites).
The Club also participates in the Tartan Touch programme of Scottish Rugby and over the summer months runs weekly sessions on Friday nights open to all ages and genders, whether participants are Club members or not. We will look to extend this over the season, with sessions moving indoors over the autumn and winter months. This extends our offer for rugby as widely as possible across the community.
As part of the Sporting Memories’ initiative, the Club runs a Rugby Memories’ Club with a monthly social gathering and a separate monthly Reds Walking Rugby session. This is aimed at the older members of the Club and is open to anyone who wishes to come along and participate. In addition, the Club has the only Rugby Club Male Voice Choir in Scotland. It practises weekly throughout the year and participates in various concerts both locally and nationally.
Linlithgow Rugby Club 